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I realize there have been several posts dedicated to debunking that oral sex poses a risk. But two weeks ago I went down on two guys with ejaculate. I do not engage in anything but oral sex and haven't engaged in anal sex in over 3 years. My last HIV-test was 2 years ago and I tested negative.Whenever I read about oral, inevitably someone mentions that 'unless you have poor dental health...' you aren't at risk. Well, I make sure not to brush my teeth for at least an hour and a half before and after engaging in oral sex. I do tend to find some blood when I brush my teeth and believe I have one cavity that needs attn. This was the case when I went down on these two guys, two weeks ago. I am concerned because 4 days ago, I woke up with night sweats a low grade fever and extreme fatigue. Basically symptoms similar to mono. Within 2 days this became strep throat with abscesses tonsils.My physician says he thinks oral sex IS a risk but wasn't concerned that this could be HIV / seroconversion related. Could it?The trouble is, when I'm talking to him about this, it seems like I understand more about HIV than he does!Does anybody else ever find this topic to be extremely vague? Should I be worried?

Many doctors/health professionals do not want to contemplate the notion of HIV positive people having sex at all. Moreover, the stigma associated with gay male sex is still out there, in abundance.

As you know, there have been no fewer than three long-term studies of serodiscordant couples. They lasted three, five and ten years. The couples used condoms for penetrative anal and vaginal sex, but no barriers at all for any form of oral sex. Medication situations, viral load, and other factors varied widely, so this was NOT a controlled set of "perfect" patients.

And zero infections were linked to oral sex. Zero.

I would not go so far as to say it's impossible to get HIV from performing fellatio. However, the circumstances would need to be outside the purview of ethical science to study.

Theoretical case in point. If your oral hygiene was CLINICALLY poor (not gingivitis - Google "Meth Mouth" to see my example) and your partner was recently infected with a soaring viral load in the millions, then theoretically there would be a chance for infection. Still not a good chance however.

Moreover, in the ten years I have been on this forum I have yet to see a single female claim to have gotten HIV through performing fellatio. That alone is pretty telling.

If you wear a condom for penetrative anal and vaginal sex, and do not share IV drug needles then you will avoid HIV. It really is that simple.

Logged

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."